OK, haven't eaten for a while and I have to say that from time to time my mind drifts to food…

And in that I thought of of a place that I had not thought about for quite awhile, even though it was my favorite place in Japan from 2000 to 2002… The Love Wave Burger Cafe in North Kyoto which was run by the coolest two couples that the man who financed it recruited from Fukui.

It was my home away from home because it was like so man 50's style diners back in the states serving big juicy hamburgers, onion rings, thick shakes… and they were amazing, I would swear I was in LA…. OMG…. ; )

Anyway, getting away from food…

It made me think about love as well. And it brought back a famous passage from the New Testemant. …and these three remain, faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love…

And it made me think about love. What love is, what it means, how we feel it, how we see it…. and what I thought more than anything is that love is proactive. Sure people fall in love, but when someone loves someone, or something, it is accompanied by action. Like buying flowers, buying rings, going to childrens concerts, helping them learn to ride a bike, taking grandma to the store, changing diapers, remembering birthdays, sharing our dreams… all of these simple things are acts of love.. and that got me thinking. Thinking of things other than food which is a great thing right now.

And that got me thinking, what if… We have some public schools in Osaka that are right now gathering food for refugees. However many schools declined to participate with a resounding Japanese, MUZUKASHII…. accompanied with the long slow sucking of air between the principals teeth… By the way, muzukashii is Japanese for 'difficult' which usually means 'this is just not going to happen pal'.

We have churches here, but we dont see alot of philanthropic activity coming out of them. In fact, most are like the church close to our Kyoto center that sits 6 days a week with not one but two chains keeping the door closed to keep out… hmmm, I am not really sure what.. Maybe the people that could use some love? I could go on and bore you but you get the idea. There are alot of people that could easily share a lot of love.

Then of course there are temples and shrines… the shrines all have a menu with prices for blessings for everything for your car, your house, the test you are studying for….and priests at the temple as well charge for every blessing… they even charge for a special name when your loved one dies and the more you pay, supposedly the better name they will receive to more effectivly navigate successfully thru the afterlife…. what every happened to blessings from the heart?

So, WHAT IF? WHAT IF we had schools that presented to their classes today that there are still 90,000 homeless in N.E. Japan? WHAT IF every kid in Japan donated a can of tuna or fruit? WHAT IF every person in every church donated a 5 or 10 kg bag of rice? WHAT IF every buddhist and shinto priest gave just 10% of their blessing take to the community? WHAT IF everytime someone went to the supermarket, they donated a container of miso? WHAT IF EVERYBODY JUST DECIDED TO STOP, AND PUT THE LESS FORTUNATE AND SUFFERING FIRST, WHAT IF EVERYBODY JUST DECIDED TO SHOW SOME LOVE?

The answer? There would be a unstoppable wave of love that brought healing to the suffering. Those who were hungry would no longer be hungry. Those who had no clothes would be clothed. Those who were broken hearted would be filled with joy.

Am I over optimistic? I think I am just seeing the future. If you would have suggested just a hundred years ago that public health care, public education and public participation in the major goverments of the planet would be status quo, most would have laughed, however thru our many failures and inequities, the world is much better today for far more of the worlds people. And I believe that over time, we will have a groundswell of love that change this world into something beyond we could ever imagine.

And how does this start? It starts with you my friend. It starts simply with you sharing some love. A can of tuna, a bag or rice, a donation of 20 bucks or 2000 yen, driving the aid delivery truck, helping with logistics etc…

And then telling your friends of the great needs and helping them share the love, and them sharing the love, and those people sharing an ever increasing groundswell of outpouring love that will encompass the earth bringing healing to all corners of the globe.

Will there be those that miss the wave? Of course there will be the skeptics, the naysayers and the selfish but they will be consumed like the sea consumes and reduces the rocky shores to beautiful sandy beaches. But in the end they will all be there in a beautiful new world.